UPI charges row: Chidambaram among 5 Congress MPs who had backed revenue framework

NEW DELHI: As Rahul Gandhi stepped up his criticism of the government over the MDR announcement and demanded its rollback, calling it a “UPI tax”, a Standing Committee on Finance report had earlier emphasised the need for a viable revenue mechanism to ensure the UPI ecosystem remains financially sustainable without placing a perpetual burden on the government exchequer.The report was prepared by a committee that included Congress leaders, including former finance minister P Chidambaram.The Standing Committee on Finance, which includes Congress MPs such as P Chidambaram, Manish Tewari, Gaurav Gogoi, Kishori Lal and K Gopinath, in its report presented to Parliament on August 12 this year, called for a tiered MDR or revenue framework for UPI.The panel also said the framework should be notified and operationalised without delay.In its report, the Committee noted the “massive Rs.